The Android
by Sixty Teacups
Summary: "We can make him look as human as possible, we can program him with whatever we want, we can even make him think that he can love and feel different emotions, but he can do no such thing. He does not have real emotions and he never will. He is wires and metal. I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish with this experiment."
1. Chapter 1

"We can make him look as human as possible, we can program him with whatever we want, we can even make him think that he can love and feel different emotions, but he can do no such thing. He does not have real emotions and he never will. He is wires and metal. I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish with this experiment." An exasperated voice stated. The two of them had been arguing about this for what seemed like months and quite frankly she was sick of it.

"I don't know either, that's why it's an experiment." Came the snarky reply.

"And if things go wrong? Then what? What'll we do?"

"Then things go wrong. Experiments go wrong all the time. Maybe we'll take a few steps back, maybe nothing will change, maybe it'll somehow result in us having to start over, but we'll handle it. We always have."

There was a long pause. This constant debate had been slowly chipping away at her and they both knew it. She was far too drained to keep this up.

"...Fine. But you have to deal with enrolling him and all of that crap." A worried sigh was released before the scientist looked at the android that had been silently listening to the conversation, an unwavering stoic expression on his face. She sighed once more. "Masamune, you're going to school."

* * *

"What are you not to do?" Saga Kotoko asked her 'son', getting ready to send him off on his first day of high school. Somehow, son felt like the most appropriate label for Masamune.

"I am not to reveal what I am or reveal my purpose." Masamune answered, mimicking what he had already been told multiple times.

"And what is your purpose?"

"To both study and attempt to engage in human emotion and interaction."

"Good." Kotoko let out a shaky breath, her worry still not leaving her. "And if anything goes wrong you are to contact one of us immediately." She reminded despite there not being a need.

"I'm sure everything will be alright." The woman huffed in annoyance when hearing her husband sound so casual while she was slowly being devoured by panic.

"If everything isn't, you will be the one to blame." Kotoko warned, narrowing her eyes at her partner, who was unphased by her words and glare, having gotten used to such harshness over their years together.

"He has to get going or he'll be late on his first day." Was the only response she received.

* * *

Masamune found his first day as a freshmen to be quite useless for the most part. Although his purpose was not an educational one, his line up of classes still seemed to be a waste of time as he could very easily download the same information. A few people attempted to talk to him throughout the day, but Masamune was quick to discover that he was not very good at keeping conversations going, which would likely be a problem.

Then he found the library. Masamune, although knowledgeable, had never visited the realm of fiction. The world of fantasy was something he had never been exposed to nor was it something he had previously desired to explore. However, in an attempt to find an excuse to not go home for a little longer, he found himself almost hiding away in the library. He knew he'd have to recap the day and his experiences for his 'parents' and he felt he had not garnered the results they were wanting. So, instead he carefully looked through the bookshelves, walking up and down the different aisles until he spotted a smaller form on his tip toes.

The young brunette was struggling as he tried to reach for a book that was just a little bit too high for him. Masamune took it upon himself to help, stretching his arm out and grabbing the book for him before holding it out to the younger student.

The brunette blushed from embarrassment, staring at Masamune for a moment before taking the book and thanking him almost a little too loudly and then running off.

Masamune watched his fleeing form before disregarding the interaction and grabbing a book for himself, unaware of both the fiction addiction he was about to cause himself and the stir of emotions he had just created in a shy underclassman.

A/N: I know its been forever since I updated Stalker-Senpai, but I'm hoping something new will get me back into the swing of things! I kind of have no idea where this fic is going, it was just kind of one of those three in the morning thoughts that I decided to write about, but I hope you enjoy it any way :)


	2. Chapter 2

"Finally a senior, huh? Exciting right?" Masamune's 'father' asked.

His 'mother' cut in before the android could respond. "Fourth year of wasting time. Very exciting."

"Hey, you can't say it's been a complete waste of time. He's at least a little better at interacting with people." Though they both knew it wasn't really by much.

The bickering continued for a little while and Masamune eventually just slipped away, tired of the repetition that had come to be his home life. The daily motions of school weren't much better. Masamune excelled in his classes without trying, studied human expressions, tones, relationships, and conversation without gaining much of a deeper understanding, and reported the unproductive day back to his parents when he returned home.

The only thing that broke up this routine was the library. He visited the school's library everyday after school ended, finding it all fascinating, fresh, and new. Always, there were new adventures, new places to go, new characters to meet, new lessons to learn.

Thus far, today was no different from any other with Masamune prowling for a new read silently. The senior reached toward a book and was met with another hand. He withdrew his hand, looking over at the other person who flinched and blushed terribly.

"Ah! Y-you can take the book, S-S-Saga Senpai." The nervous boy insisted.

Masamune recognized him from their first interaction his freshmen year, in addition to the multiple times the older student had spotted the younger around the library when he thought he was being sneaky. This was Oda Ritsu. His stalker, for lack of a better word.

"How do you know my name?"

Ritsu was red in the face, eyes wide and palms sweating. "I love you."

Masamune could only stare at Ritsu for a few moments, processing the weight of his words. This was what he was here for, was it not? Was an opportunity finally presenting itself to him? Of course, in the past Masamune had been flirted with by different girls, but never directly confessed to, and he didn't exactly have an easy time distinguishing politeness from romantic interest.

Ritsu started to choke out an apology, about to take his words back, but Masamune didn't give him the chance.

"You want to go out with me?" He asked. "I don't mind."

Ritsu squirmed anxiously as he tried to detect a hint of teasing in his senpai's expression, but found none. Was this seriously happening? There was no way his accidental confession had just been accepted!

A cool hand gently ruffled Ritsu's hair, making the underclassman shut his eyes tight.

"It's fine. You don't have to look so worried." The older assured.

Hesitantly, Ritsu nodded, accepting the affectionate gesture without a clue as to what he was really getting himself into.

* * *

"Human interaction number 26: a female student asked to borrow my math notes. Human interaction 27: the librarian greeted me when I entered the library. Human interaction 28: A boy confessed his affections for me and I agreed to engage in a relationship with him. Human interaction 29: the-"

"Wait what?! Repeat number 28!" His mother quickly demanded.

"Human interaction 28: A boy confessed his affections for me and I agreed to engage in a relationship with him." Masamune repeated. "Was that incorrect? Should I have rejected him?"

"No, this is great!" His father interjected before his mother could discourage him, a wide grin coming to his face. "You should continue to pursue this relationship with him, study his emotions, expressions, and reactions."

"What? But this student is a boy!" His mother exclaimed.

"So? The gender doesn't matter!" His father was quick to reply. She sighed and rolled her eyes, deciding not to start up another drawn out argument. Yet.

"Fine. But you absolutely in no way can reveal your purpose and why you're with him or what you are." His mother was quick to add.

Masamune nodded shortly in understanding.

"Will you see him tomorrow?" His father asked and Masamune gave another brief nod.

"The probability is high."

"Good, that's good. Your mission stays the same, just...dedicate some more of your time and focus to this boy in particular."

Masamune did not argue, his mother crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at her husband as if to silently say the discussion was not completely over.

Masamune powered down later in the night and the argument picked back up.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course it is. The gender of the person doesn't matter, so long as their feelings are genuine."

"And that's the other issue. Someone has feelings for Masamune and Masamune can never return those feelings. Doesn't it sound a little...cruel? Tragic?" She couldn't quite find the right word.

"Okay, one boy might get his feelings hurt because of an unsuccessful relationship in high school. He'll get over it, eventually. But this could possibly help with Masamune's progress in human interaction and his understanding of emotions. Besides, we don't know that Masamune can't return his feelings."

A large laugh filled the room, lasting a little too long.

"You can't be serious! Masamune cannot genuinely feel anything."

"I suppose we're just going to have to wait and see."

The small giggles died out slowly as the woman realized her amusement was only being met with hard determination.

"There's nothing to wait for. I already know how this is going to end. I'm not going to keep arguing this with you. Instead I am going to bed and you can keep going on with your mad ideas and ravings by yourself."

And with that, stubborn footsteps went up the stairs and to the bedroom the two scientists hadn't shared in quite a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Have you read this one senpai?" Ritsu asked curiously as he held a book out to Masamune shyly. "I-I just finished it last night, I really liked it and I thought maybe you would too!" He gave a wide, genuine smile that Masamune just couldn't seem to replicate no matter how hard he tried. Instead, the older 'boy' gave the book a rather passive look, taking the book into his hands and flipping through it briefly as he shook his head.

"No, I haven't. I'll give it a look." He promised, watching as Ritsu gave a pleased and satisfied expression. How and why did he look so happy from something so simple? Masamune feared he would never understand.

This had been their little shtick for a few days now, ever since Ritsu's confession: they would meet together at the library, talk about books, Ritsu might have a math question or two he'd ask his senpai about, and then they would read. It wasn't by any means anything special, but the facial expressions Masamune studied on Ritsu were always joyful, ecstatic, _loving._ Masamune _seriously_ feared he would never understand.

The two soon settled into silence, Masamune watching Ritsu discreetly from the corner of his eye, taking note of the red hue to his cheeks and the tension in his body as he tried to hide himself in his book.

Masamune wondered if perhaps conversation would thrive better in an environment meant for it. The library-while lovely-was not the ideal place for socializing.

"Do you want to come over to my place?" The question left Masamune before he could really think about what he was asking. His parents would probably be home... Would they mind? This was what he was supposed to do, after all. He was supposed to spend more time with Ritsu.

The poor brunette almost fell out of his own chair in surprise, sputtering an unclear response.

"Do you not want to?" Masamune asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"No-I mean I don't mean 'no', but-I...w-would that really be okay?" Ritsu asked, looking away from the upperclassman shyly.

"If it wasn't okay I wouldn't have asked." Masamune responded, watching as he was given a slow nod in response.

"O-o-okay."

* * *

Masamune walked into his home, he and Ritsu slipping off his shoes as the older of the two called out that he was home. He received a greeting from the kitchen, the voice belonging to his mother. Masamune shuffled into the living room, Ritsu awkwardly following.

"Masamune, give me today's repor-oh. Who is this?" His mother blinked in surprise when she walked into the living room and saw the brunette, her lips pressing together in a displeased line.

Although the young teen should have expected to meet at least one if not both of his senpai's parents, he certainly wasn't ready for it. Anxiety and panic started to eat at him, shifting nervously as he tried to form the words to properly introduce himself. Recognizing the signs of discomfort coming from Ritsu, Masamune decided to take the reigns.

"This is Oda Ritsu. My boyfriend." He introduced and watched as Ritsu's face burned red and his eyes widened with terror. Had that been wrong? Weren't they dating? Did he somehow introduce him incorrectly?

"Oh." His mother replied. "Well, alright...I wasn't expecting any guests, but welcome." She said. Ritsu slowly regained some composure, though still feeling emotionally off balance.

"Ah, t-thank you. S-sorry for intruding…" He managed to stutter out before feeling Masamune grip his hand.

"We're going to my room." Masamune announced, not giving much room for argument as he led the rather frazzled underclassman elsewhere.

His mother watched curiously, a soft and thoughtful hum leaving her. So that was the boy they were using, huh? She wondered if she and her husband should really be encouraging this. Putting a face to the name made it a little harder to continue to go through with the plan, but she supposed that either way this 'Oda Ritsu' would have to get over Masamune someday. The poor kid would end up with a broken heart no matter what.

* * *

The bedroom door shut behind the two of them, Masamune sitting on the edge of his bed as Ritsu let his flustered thoughts filter through.

"Y-y-you presented me as your b-boyfriend to your mother! W-why did you do that?!" He exclaimed, wanting to crumple up into a ball and never show his face again.

Masamune frowned in confusion. "Should I not have done that?" He asked. Ritsu really could be so weird...one minute he was spouting words of love and the next he didn't want to be labeled as Masamune's lover. What was with that?

"W-w-well, you j-just never know with people." Ritsu said, looking down and nervously tugging at the ends of his sleeves.

"Never know with people?" Masamune echoed.

"You know...w-whether or not they're o-okay with same sex relationships…" Ritsu explained briefly. "I mean, you know your mom better than me obviously so I guess you would know how she feels about that stuff, it's just...it came as a surprise to hear you say it so openly."

"So, I shouldn't present you as my boyfriend in the future?" Masamune wanted to clarify.

"P-probably not. It-it's not that I'm ashamed, it's just...people can be really cruel." Ritsu smiled, but it was different. It was small, timid, dimmed, sad and almost _cynical._ Masamune stared, never having seen such an expression on Ritsu. He didn't like it.

The younger shook his head as if to physically shake the thought away and gave a sigh. "And another thing, you called me Oda?"

"Yes. That's your name." Masamune replied. Now this was getting even stranger. Why did Ritsu have a problem with him being called by his name?

"Um...I...my name is Onodera. Onodera Ritsu." The underclassman corrected.

"Then why did you write 'Oda' in the books you checked out after me?" Masamune questioned, delving only deeper into confusion.

Realization dawned on Ritsu's face as his dark and familiar blush returned.

"I-oh-it's really embarrassing-I-I didn't even think you noticed…" He trailed off and looked away shyly. "I just didn't want you to think I was a stalker of some sort…"

"But whether it's Oda or Onodera doesn't make a difference. You still looked like a stalker." Masamune commented, watching as _Onodera_ Ritsu hid his face in his hands.

"C-c-can we please just forget I did that?" Ritsu pleaded.

Masamune felt the corner of his lips quirk up the smallest bit in amusement. Amusement? Yes, that seemed like the appropriate description as to what he was feeling.

"Yes, if that's what you want." Masamune replied. Ritsu nodded, hands coming down to clasp together in front of him.

"Thank you." He said, sitting down on the bed once the raven-haired boy offered him a seat.

And now that one reason to panic was over, another one rolled in as Ritsu let the fact that he was in his senpai's room for the first time sink in. The rest of the afternoon was filled with stuttering and blushing and just the slightest hint of a smile from Masamune.


End file.
